ilka91
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Hi! I've a question for the ones who are more used to this kind of trip...
Do you think it is ok for two girls to sleep in the CNL train from copenhagen to amsterdam without paying for a bed in a couch? to make it more affordable, we were thinking of sleeping in the compartment, and I was wondering if you think it may be kind of dangerous...
thank you for your help!!!
Ila
nltrainer
Traveller
1405 comments
it does not matter if you are male or female-Ive been brought up in times of e-man-cipation. And the firm belief that Scandinavians are among the most advanced in that field.
Never been on a plane or overnght bus (the word is coach for that)? Its essentailly the same-but the seats or-in some CNL with the recliners (hefty surcharge) are larger and offer more space.
On the CPH nite-train, seats are mostly in old refurbished ex DDR coaches, with 6 in a cabin, oldstyle railways (long out of use in DK/SE) and not overcomfy-they recline just a litle (in fact most modern buses are better then). The lowest priced lie-down is named couchette/liegewagen or liggevogn and offers hostel style planks to lie down on -6 or 4 in a cabin, 2 or 3 on top. That cost mostly about 15-20 eur extra/nite-trip. Shared sexes-the old idea was that one slept in days clothes.
Tomthebear
Traveller
138 comments
I travel a lot on night trains, so I can tell you, that there is no need to worry about your safety on the train. Depending on how long you`ll have to stay on that train, I would recommend booking a bunk in a 6-bed compartment, as those reclining seats are not overly comfy.. If you end up in those old fashioned coaches, nltrainer mentioned, and you are lucky to have the compartment all for yourself, you can stretch out on the seats and you`ll have a real good sleep.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
- Dont worry about safety, especially on CNL services.
- As mentioned, I would also recommend to book berths in a 6bed couchette as the Copenhagen - Amsterdam trip is quite long and you will sleep much better than in the regular seats. Back in 2010 I was travelling with two friends and this was the only night train where we invested in couchettes, it was really worth it. ;)
- You can not pull out the seats to form beds on the coaches used on CNL services! They only recline just a tad, not really worth mentioning!
Flo 8)
ilka91
Traveller
2 comments
Thanks a lot to all of you who answered!
You actually made me feel more confused because I don't really want to spend 36€ for sleeping in a very small room with 4 other unknown people, not because I feel uncomfortable with it, but just because I think it's a very high fare when we already spent the money for the interrail ticket and all the rest...and meanwhile, the compartment fee is only 12€ :| I am not really sure of what to do! but anyway, thanks, now I have more clear ideas of what to expect!
I think I will wait until the very last minute, maybe we'll feel like booking a bed if we re very tired, or we'll feel like adventurous and we won't :D
Just the last question, I've read somewhere else that there are only 4 coaches on the train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam and it gets full quickly...we are taking that train on the night of Thursday the 20th of March, do you think we can manage to buy the ticket directly at Copenhagen station on the 17th, when we'll arrive there? Or it may be too late and it's better to do it online before? And would it cost much more to do it at the station in Copenhagen?
thank you sooooo much again! you are all so nice and fast answering! :))
Ila
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Ciao Ila,
well, you have to consider that the standard full fare for the trip Copenhagen - Amsterdam is 132€ in a regular seat, 147€ in a 6bed couchette and 157€ in a 4bed couchette. Compared to that the reservation fares on top of your IR ticket are still quite ok (although I can understand your feelings as I would prefer to pay less as well). ;)
In my experience, travelling as a solo traveller on a night train was always fun and never uncomfortable, I usually met really nice people and had only good experiences. After all, they could have the same doubts as you travelling with other people they dont know.
You can try and make a test booking online at the website of Deutsche Bahn to see if there are still seats/beds available, for instance there are still free seats and beds for tomorrows departure. Explanation can be found here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/copenhagen-amsterdam-cnl-40473/13[/u]
Flo 8)